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Senator Whitehouse Opposes DeVos

January 27, 2017 - Yesterday Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released a statement opposing the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education:

“Every Rhode Island student deserves the chance to learn and gain the skills they need to get ahead. The mission of the U.S. Department of Education is to give them that chance. Promoting quality education for children no matter where they live requires a firm grasp of education policy and experience confronting complex issues. It requires an understanding that programs like Pell Grants, established by Rhode Island’s legendary Senator Claiborne Pell, often make higher education possible for aspiring college students. The Secretary of Education needs to understand what the Department can do to help make schools safe for all kids and how vital federal laws support children with special needs. Our Education Secretary must have this baseline knowledge and background. Mrs. DeVos’s record and testimony before the Committee show that she does not.

“Moreover, the brand of ideologically driven education reform Mrs. DeVos has championed is not what Rhode Islanders want. I have received thousands of letters, calls, and emails in opposition to her nomination, many of them citing the school voucher and privatization agenda Mrs. DeVos and her allies imposed in Michigan. Rhode Island parents, teachers, and students have seen the poor results of that agenda and do not want it in our schools.

“I am also deeply concerned with this nominee’s potential conflicts of interest and lack of transparency. Mrs. DeVos has failed to address these issues, despite numerous requests for information from me and other members of the Committee. We still do not know the extent of her ties to shadowy organizations designed to shield special interests from public scrutiny or whether she has disentangled herself fully from knotty investments. She needed to put these concerns to rest with thorough disclosures to us, but she hasn’t come close.

“This is why Mrs. DeVos is wholly unqualified for this role and I cannot support her nomination.”

Related

Reed Opposes DeVos Nomination

January 27, 2017 - Today Senator Jack Reed released a statement in opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education. Senator Whitehouse yesterday announced his opposition to DeVos. Reed's statement follows:

“Ms. DeVos flunked her confirmation hearing and is not the right person for the job.

“Our Secretary of Education should be a champion for all children – not someone like Ms. DeVos who suggested that a landmark civil rights law should be left up to states.

“As a lobbyist, Ms. DeVos helped reduce school oversight and accountability in Michigan and promoted the diversion of taxpayer dollars toward private schools.

“Given her ties to for-profit education companies that will be directly impacted by Department of Education decisions, it is hard to fathom how she could fully untangle herself from a thick web of conflicts.

“Neither her background, nor her testimony before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee inspire confidence that she has the experience or vision necessary to oversee national education policy, including higher education and the management of a $1 trillion student loan portfolio.

“When our students have access to good schools, quality teachers, and high quality college and career education opportunities, there is no limit to what they can achieve.

“But if Ms. DeVos is confirmed, I fear she will take resources away from public school students and direct them to for-profit schools and institutions that share her views. I don’t think that is fair to students and I don’t think Ms. DeVos should be confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Education. I will vote no.”

A Statement from NEARI President on the Confirmation of Betsy DeVos

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education. Below is a statement from NEA Rhode Island (NEARI) President Larry Purtill:

"Betsy DeVos is the most exceptionally unqualified cabinet nominee in history with zero experience in public education, administration or even as a parent of a public school student. Unfortunately, the Senate chose to ignore the thousands of voices from across the country who joined together to clog phone lines and flood inboxes in opposition to her and the Trump-DeVos agenda.

"The DeVos confirmation does not magically silence our voices. The massive nationwide public outcry by educators, administrators, parents, students, civil rights groups, special education advocates and others is just the beginning. The level of activism we have seen is incredibly encouraging and we will continue to resist policies detrimental to public education and work together to protect our students and educators.

"On behalf of our 12,000 members, I’d like to thank Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline who, with their Democratic colleagues, fought tooth and nail to quash this nomination.

"They never gave up and neither will we."

NEA President reacts to Betsy DeVos nomination for Education Secretary

WASHINGTON - On November 23, 2016, the Trump administration announced its plan to nominate Betsy DeVos, best known for her anti-public education campaigns, for the position of Secretary of Education. The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Lily Eskelsen García:

“Every day, educators use their voice to advocate for every student to reach his or her full potential. We believe that the chance for the success of a child should not depend on winning a charter lottery, being accepted by a private school, or living in the right ZIP code. We have, and will continue, to fight for all students to have a great public school in their community and the opportunity to succeed no matter their backgrounds or circumstances.

“Betsy DeVos has consistently worked against these values, and her efforts over the years have done more to undermine public education than support students. She has lobbied for failed schemes, like vouchers — which take away funding and local control from our public schools — to fund private schools at taxpayers’ expense. These schemes do nothing to help our most-vulnerable students while they ignore or exacerbate glaring opportunity gaps. She has consistently pushed a corporate agenda to privatize, de-professionalize and impose cookie-cutter solutions to public education. By nominating Betsy DeVos, the Trump administration has demonstrated just how out of touch it is with what works best for students, parents, educators and communities.

“The National Education Association advocates for investing in smart strategies that we know help to improve the success of all our students, including creating more opportunities and equity for students, classes small enough for one-on-one attention, modern textbooks and a well-rounded curriculum for every student. We also know that the voices of educators — those who know the names of the students they educate — should always be present at the table when making decisions that impact student success. Educators will continue to focus on raising their voices in support of their students and against any effort by the Trump administration to undermine the educational opportunity of all public school students.”

“It is sad that the beleaguered RI GOP would use the occasion of Teacher Appreciation Week to attack a hardworking classroom teacher. Like many Rhode Islanders, Val Lawson is active in her profession, her community, her union, and, in her case, she also serves as a newly-elected state senator.

“Val Lawson is a stickler for the rules. She attended the briefing for state senators conducted by the RI Ethics Commission and followed up with their executive director, Jason Gramitt, with questions on this topic. In fact, this matter was so clear-cut that neither the Ethics Commission staff nor Senate legal staff felt that she needed an opinion in writing.

“As to the specifics of this complaint, Sen. Lawson followed the two relevant rules to the letter. The class exception covers Sen. Lawson debating and voting on this bill, which equally impacts all public sector employees. While not relevant, it should be noted that a statewide NEARI vice president has no role in bargaining for NEARI’s 75 local associations. Should the GOP efforts to change the existing rules prevail, one can question if anyone can serve in our part-time general assembly.

“The GOP acknowledges that Sen. Lawson is in compliance with the second relevant policy. When a NEARI employee was slated to testify before the Senate Labor Committee, she completed and submitted the appropriate recusal paperwork, and removed herself from the table as she was advised to do, because the NEARI lobbyist could be considered a business associate. For a similar reason, she requested not to serve on the Senate Education Committee where NEARI lobbyists more regularly appear.

“Obviously, we are extremely disappointed that the RI GOP would use the RI Ethics Commission for a political attack because they disagree with the underlying legislation. We are also shocked that the so-called paper-of-record’s reporter turned this into an issue by tweeting out a comment before checking her notes, effectively making herself part of the story and virtually inviting the filing of this complaint.

“We fully expect the RI Ethics Commission will rule in this matter consistent with its current regulations.”

Educators urge Congress to end NCLB

NCLB - No Child Left Behind - is the federal education law that has imposed unrealistic mandates on states for the last 14 years. Specifically, its "test, blame, and punish" approach tied federal education aid into standardized test performance. Now, thanks to members' activism, both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are poised to make significant improvements.

There stands an excellent chance that by the new year, President Obama will have signed a new, vastly improved national education law – the seventh reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Ending NCLB and replacing it with a law that focuses on opportunity for all students is a goal that NEA has been focused on throughout the process.

In July, both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives passed ESEA reauthorizations – the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA) and the Student Success Act (SSA), respectively. The two bills are similar in some ways and different in others. It is these differences that Senate and House education committee staff and leaders are ironing out to produce a joint, bipartisan ESEA bill that President Obama can sign into law.

Specifically, NEA believes that the final bill should:

Mandate that states accountability plans include key supports so that all students have a chance to learn.

Reduce the amount of standardized testing in schools and decouple high-stakes decision-making and statewide standardized tests.

Ensure educator voice in decision making at all levels of government.

The Senate, in particular, addressed all these key issues. Unfortunately, the current House version includes so-called "Title I Portability," which permits federal funding for disadvantaged children to "follow" students to a public school of their choice (essentially a backdoor to vouchers), which NEA strongly opposes. Read more about the voucher expansion.

Nothing is certain with Congress – bills can be easily derailed – but the finish line for ESEA reauthorization is in sight, and educators and parents have been urging lawmakers to stay focused and deliver a new law. In early November, a coalition of ten leading education and parent organizations, including the NEA, launched a digital campaign urging Congress to "get ESEA done."

Our Rhode Island Congressional delegation - Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, and Rep. Jim Langevin and David Cicciline - has been 100 percent in agreement with NEA's position, and has been working to achieve a new ESEA. Thank them for their efforts on behalf of all students.

No Child Left Behind is left behind

Thanks to members' unprecedented, year-long advocacy on behalf of students, the era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) finally ended when President Obama signed the Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA) December 10. Students and educators lived with the unintended consequences of the failed NCLB for more than 14 years, including an over-emphasis on standardized testing.

Continuing to advocate for an effective law, more than 9,000 NEA members submitted comments this summer on the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulations on accountability under ESSA, far more than any other single group. Now it’s time to submit comments on the proposed regulations on another provision of ESSA: “supplement not supplant,” which requires federal dollars to add to, not replace, state and local dollars. Comparing expenditures among schools tells us little about the resource needs of the students in those schools—what matters is sufficient funding, equitably distributed, to ensure that every student has access to meaningful opportunities to learn. The comment period on “supplement not supplant” ends November 7. Check out the proposed regulations, and then submit your comments.

ESSA furthers all three of NEA's core goals:

Creating an opportunity "dashboard" to help ensure equity and opportunity for all students

Reducing the amount of standardized testing and decoupling test scores and high-stakes decision making

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García

"This new law is a well-deserved victory for our nation because the Every Student Succeeds Act will create greater opportunity for every student regardless of ZIP Code.

"Now our work begins in earnest as we shift our attention toward implementation. We look forward to working closely with state and local policymakers, as well as other key stakeholders, to raise our voice to deliver on the promise of ESSA and to provide opportunity for all students."

NEARI President Larry Purtill

"ESSA returns decision-making for our nation's education back where it belongs - in the hands of local educators, parents and communities - while keeping the focus on students most in need.

"Educators will have a seat at the table when it comes to making decisions that affect their students and classrooms. This legislation begins to close the opportunity gaps for students by providing a new system that includes an 'opportunity dashboard' with indicators of school success and student support. It reduces the amount of standardized testing in schools so students have more time to develop critical thinking while educators do what they love — teach.

"Senators Reed and Whitehouse, and Congressmen Langevin and Ciccilline have always advocated for educators and students. We thank them for their support in passing this important bill."